Teach a Man to Fish Wraps up a Third Year

In many ways this sustainable seafood event, Teach a Man to Fish, reflects a maturation in the movement toward more sustainable seafood choices. Not only do we have a broad cross-section of contributors, as in prior years. We also have a small school of contributors who have been recognized specifically for their sustainability efforts.

The second annual Flying Fish Award - "for going above and beyond" goes to Casson Trenor. As I write this, my buddy is on a Greenpeace vessel, somewhere in the Pacific on his way to document and challenge the purse seine skipjack tuna fishing that's going on there in violation of International agreements. Before jetting off to Tahiti, Casson was recognized by Time Magazine. Yup - that Time Magazine. Along with his partners, Chefs Kin Lui and Raymond Ho, he started the Sustainable Sushi trend.

Barton Seaver won Esquire's Chef of the Year award for making sustainability center of the plate. He also became a fellow at the Blue Ocean Institute which co-developed the new chef tutorial along with our own Chefs Collaborative.

We've got a recipe from a Top Chef, too with Radhika Desai (Season 5) contributing her 10 Spice Barramundi. Buddy Rick Moonen brought the message to this season's Top Chef panel and also spoke to groups like Google about the issue. A couple of recipes from photographers who cook, cooks who are authors and of course, bloggers.

Teach a Chef to Fish Begins

The focus on chefs this year was intentional on my part. I launched chefs' workshops to introduce new sourcing tools (FishChoice.com), tutorials (Green Chefs, Blue Ocean), and resources geared toward professional kitchens. With more buying power and the ability to educate a wide swath of the dining public, I figured reaching out to chefs would be a way to have broader impact.

I held Teach a Chef to Fish workshops in Boston and Chicago this year and will be hosting a third in Toronto in January (never mind, I like the cold.) I'm grateful to the folks who developed these tools and who let me build my workshops around taking the message to chefs in these cities.

I discovered great new fish to add to my repertoire, like Barramundi, thanks to The Better Fish, Australis Barramundi. I learned of new blogs focussed on sustainable seafood, new books, new videos, new friends.

As I always say, none of the rest of it would matter, if I don't want to put it in my mouth. And now, here are close to three dozen recipes (with links to many more) using sustainable seafood to create wonderful meals. Some resources are linked within the posts, others follow at the end.

Put the oil and onions in a medium sized saute pan. Bring up to a low simmer, and add a pinch of salt. Put the pan over a very low heat - just enough for the oil to very gently fizz around the onions, perhaps even less. Let this cook for a couple of hours. Stir every 20 minutes or so, just to make sure no pieces on onion are sticking to the sides of the pan.

Slice the tomatoes in half, and push out all the seeds. Grate these on the large holes of a box grater - cut side to the grater. This will grate in the tomato pulp, but leave the skins in your hand.

After the onions have cooked for a couple of hours in the oil they should be deeply colored. Add in the tomato to the pan, and another pinch of salt. Let this cook for a further 2 hours. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Store the sofrito, covered in the oil in a fridge.

Garlic Confit:

10 cloves of garlic (or more)

olive oil

Put the garlic cloves in a small saucepan. Pour in enough oil to completely cover the cloves. Cook over a gentle heat for 40 minutes. If the cloves start to brown, the oil is too hot. Allow to cool, then store the garlic in the fridge, covered with its oil.

Flageolet beans:

1 cup flageolet beans

1 onion (cut in half)

5 sprigs of thyme

green ends of 1 leek

1 bay leaf

1 carrot

5 sprigs of parsley

4 tablespoons of sofrito, and some of the sofrito oil

4 cloves garlic confit, crushed

1 anchovy fillet

water

1 handful of kale leaves

3/4lb halibut fillet - cut into two portions

The night before making the dish, soak the flageolet beans in a bowl of water. In a rush? you can use the quick soak method: Put the beans in a saucepan of water. Bring to the boil, then remove from the heat. Let them sit for 1 hour before using.

Preheat oven to 400F

Tie the leek, thyme and parsley together with some kitchen twine. In a large saucepan put the onion, beans, tied up leek/thyme/parsley, bay leaf and carrot. Cover completely with water - make sure the water is a couple of inches above all the beans and veg. Bring to a simmer, and cook for about 40 minutes, until the beans are tender. Skim off any scum that might rise to the surface. Beans can be cooked the day before, and stored in the fridge for use the next day.

Setup a steamer. Personally I like the traditional bamboo steamer - they are large, steam fast, and, er, look rather nice. Steam the kale leaves until just tender. Cool in an ice bath, drain, dry and roughly chop. In a large saute pan add in the sofrito, garlic confit, and a couple of tablespoons of the sofrito oil. Heat gently over a medium flame until hot. Add in the anchovy fillet, and mix until amalgamated with the sofrito. Add in the beans. Cover the pan, and let this cook for about 15 minutes, until the beans are hot, and have taken on the flavor from the sofrito mixture.

Whilst the beans are cooking here, heat up a non-stick pan over a high heat, and add a tablespoon of olive oil. Put the halibut in flesh side down, and sear until nicely golden brown - about 6 minutes. Transfer to a roasting pan, and finish cooking in the oven - another 5 minutes or so. The fish is done when it is flaky, and just opaque all the way the through.

To finish the dish add the kale into the bean mixture. Gently mix to heat through the kale. Spoon this mixture onto two plates. Drissle with any of the oil left in the pan, or a teaspoon or so of the sofrito oil. Top with the pan roasted halibut.

Serve immediately.

Halibut Ceviche on Watermelon

Executive Chef Greg Griffieof the Renaissance Hotel Boston and606 Congress Street Restaurant Offers us Chef Dan's Halibut Ceviche on Watermelon. Greg was one of our Boston participants and I recently ran into him at another New England Aquarium luncheon where we learned about very interesting efforts underway to restore the red snapper fishery in the Gulf of Mexico. Greg's long been a supporter of local, sustainable cuisine and introduced me to a new aquacultured Halibut I'd never heard of: Giga Halibut.

About 10 Minutes before ready to serve pour juices over halibut mixture and fold together and add olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

When ready to serve spoon a small amount on top of watermelon rectangles and serve chilled.

Sprinkle with flake sea salt for an added touch

{ Another option to serve, When ceviche is mixed, place in chilled bowl to self serve, Also can small dice and fold watermelon inside of ceviche and serve in small glasses or bowl}

Rebecca Katz, author of The Cancer Fighting Kitchen and One Bite at a Time shares this recipe using Wild Alaskan salmon. Rebecca's a wonderful mentor, friend and chef. Her energy and enthusiasm for helping people heal and be well through food is positively infectious.

In a small bowl or glass measuring cup, whisk together the orange juice, lime juice, lemon juice, olive oil, orange zest, lemon zest, ginger, and cayenne. Place the cod in a baking dish and season each piece with 1/8 teaspoon of the salt. Pour half of the orange juice mixture over the cod and turn to coat well. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Remove the salmon from the refrigerator, uncover, and add 2 tablespoons of water to the bottom of the dish. Bake just until the fillets are tender and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of each fillet registers 130°F; it will take 10 to 12 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets.

Meanwhile, combine the remaining orange juice mixture and the mustard in a small saucepan over medium heat and simmer until the liquid is reduced by half. Pour the reduction over the fillets along with a dollop of Morocann Mint Pesto and serve immediately.

Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor and process until well blended.

Oregon Pink Shrimp Cocktail with Organic Tequila and Lime Kefir Sauce

Chef Peter Pahk - has been a contributor each year. He introduced me to Abalone at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Cooking for Solutions event. I later learned what a leader he is in the sustainability field. The Silverado Resort where he is Executive Chef is noted for their leadership and they never stop pushing themselves to do more.

Here he uses Oregon Pink Shrimp (MSC Certified and a "best choice") to make a sophisticated re-do of the classic shrimp cocktail. Maybe we should call it a "Mulligan" Shrimp Cocktail, eh chef?

Shrimp is a very popular and very problematic choice. Imported shrimp, most often from Asia are often farmed in ways that wreak havoc on the local environments and the local economies as well. In many cases, shrimp from China has been found to be laden with toxins. That'll put a damper on your dim sum. Sorry, but it's true.

Luckily, there are some alternatives. Spot prawns from BC, Pink Shrimp from Oregon are two of the best ones. CleanFish is promoting a farmed shrimp from Belize and there are a couple of US based shrimpers in the gulf that are using by-catch reduction to alleviate that issue. In many conventional shrimping operations, 7-10 lbs of by-catch can be wasted (that's dead fish you didn't mean to catch) for every single lb of shrimp harvested. Is it any wonder why the oceans are running out of fish?

To make the “Confetti” you will need a turning machine.. if not this garnish is entirely optional.For the Chiffonade of Romaine you will need one head of just the heart of Romaine lettuce. Starting from the stem end , slice as thin a ribbon of Romaine that you can. Reserve

To Serve, place 1 ounce of romaine at the bottom of a martini glass. Hang a few strands of each kind of “Confetti” down the glass…

Spoon about 2 ounces of Kefir Sauce on top of the lettuce and then add about 3 ounces of the Oregon Pink Shrimp on top.. Garnish with the Dill and Parsley Sprigs and Lime Wedge

My friend Kian Lam Kho publishes the beautiful blog Red Cook. He shares his recipe for mussels which are a favorite in sustainabilty circles. Mussels are almost always farmed, off the bottom and are filter feeders (like other shellfish). With Mussel farms, there's seldom any issue with excess nutrients, waste runoff, or antibiotic-laced waters.

This recipe is a wonderful example of using a sustainable seafood item and adding a little flair, Kian uses fermented tofu and cilantro to turn mussels into a Chinese delicacy. Leave it to Kian Lam to weave the history including Clementine in the Kitchen into this story that precedes this gorgeous dish. It looks so good I might even have to try fermented tofu!

Braddock Spear a Marine Biologist from Baltimore began the Sustainable Ocean Project and highlights our efforts on his blog. It's always exciting to meet a kindred spirit and the oceans need all our voices. Please check out Brad's blog and see what he's writing about.

Brad says: Maine shrimp are brilliantly sweet and tender, but are often overlooked by the market because their meat is small. I think it's totally worth the extra 10 minutes of prep work. For the past four or five years, population abundance has been high and fishing pressure is low (mainly because of the market). Also called the Northern Shrimp, Monterey Bay Aquarium gives it a 'good alternative' rating.

Toss shrimp in a bowl with salt, red pepper flakes, and 3 tbsp of olive oil. Heat a large and heavy skillet over medium high. Add shrimp and saute for a maximum of two minutes by tossing them around the skillet to cook evenly. When almost cooked through, transfer shrimp to a plate and set aside. Add onions and 2 tbsp of olive oil to the skillet and saute until translucent (no browning!) about five minutes. Add tomatoes and their juices, wine, garlic, and oregano. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce slightly thickens, about ten minutes. Return shrimp and their juices to the mixture in the skillet. Toss and cook for about another minute. Stir in fresh herbs. Taste and add salt accordingly.

Serve with grilled slices of rustic Italian bread (Anne Burrell-style): Grill bread on a stove-top grill pan or outside grill until you see slightly charred grill marks. When hot, rub bread very lightly with a fresh garlic clove. The garlic will almost melt into the bread. Finish each slice of bread with drizzles of the most expensive olive oil you can afford.

Disclaimer: I have never eaten a real po'boy, so I make no claims to the authenticity of my sandwich. All I can say is that it was delicious.

This looks like a lot of components, but don't worry: this all came together really fast. Also, there's nothing wrong with using regular tartar sauce, plain butter, skipping the salad, etc.

Makes enough for two servings:

For fish

12 ounces gutted, cleaned smelts (don't worry about the bones - they'll soften up during the frying and will be 100% edible)

Wondra flour, for dredging

Oil for frying

For fennel-lemon tartar sauce

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

Zest of 1 lemon

Chopped fennel fronds

Hot pepper flakes, to taste

For mustard butter

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons creole mustard

To finish sandwich

12" baguette, cut into 2 pieces and sliced lengthwise (like a book)

For salad

Fennel bulb

1 tangerine or clementine

2 handfuls shredded chicory

sherry vinegar

olive oil

salt & pepper

Make tartar sauce: Mix all ingredients together and adjust salt, heat and acid to your taste.

Make mustard butter: Blend butter and mustard together.

Make salad: Thinly slice fennel bulb (a mandoline is great for this). Peel and section the tangerine into segments. Toss fennel and tangerine segments with chicory. Sprinkle a few tablespoons of sherry vinegar over the salad and then a few tablespoons of olive oil. Toss to combine, adding salt and pepper to taste.

Fry the fish: Heat 1/2" oil in frying pan. Dredge the smelts in Wondra flour. When oil is hot (sprinkle a little flour into oil - it should sizzle up and brown quickly), fry the fish in batches until lightly browned. Remove fish from pan and drain on paper towels. Let the oil come up to heat again before frying more fish. (I fried mine in two batches.)

Assemble sandwich: heat the baguettes in a 300 oven until warm and crusty. Spread the inside of the bread with mustard butter. Fill each sandwich with fish (leave some tails poking out the ends, for fun). Sprinkle fish with salt and a squeeze of lemon juice. Top with tartar sauce. Serve with salad alongside or stuffed into the sandwich as you prefer. (We kept our salad on the side and stuffed a little in every now and then.)

Here's another great recipe from Mary Reilly at Cooking 4 the Week. I love any kind of legumes, really. But there is something really refined about Lentils de Puy which, I guess, is how they earned AOC status. They pair really nicely with fish as you will see with this recipe.

Mary is a great cook and a good sport, who let me boss her around the very first time I met her, sent me bacon brittle after the second time we dined together, and came to my Boston workshop and helped me staff the sign in table! All this while selling her goodies at the farmers market and catering and planning her own restaurant. Even if she's an over achiever who makes me look like a slug, you gotta love her!

This beautiful fish comes to us from Pepy Nasution who publishes: Indonesia Eats.

Directions1. Squeeze calamansi over fish and mariante for 30 minutes.2. Rub fish with spiced paste and let it for 15 minutes.3. Place fish, spiced paste, the leaves ingredients in banana leaves, wrap them up and pin with wood tooth picks or tie wih strings. Steam 45 minutes or until done.

Directions: In a pan, melt butter with garlic until butter turns golden brown. Add spinach and pinch of nutmeg, salt, and black pepper. Cook just until wilted.

Method: Combine honey, soy sauce, grapeseed oil, and vinegar in a bowl. Stir and place black cod fillets in the bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Remove fish from marinade and season with salt and black pepper. Place fillets on a cookie sheet and cook in the oven until they have a golden/dark-brown hue and are cooked through, about 7 to 8 minutes.

To serve: Spoon wilted spinach or pea leaves equally between 6 plates, top with fillet and spoon some marinade over and around the fish.

While reasonable people can debate the overall impact of flying frozen fish across the country, I believe it can be a sustainable alternative. Sometimes supporting well-managed fisheries means not buying locally. It's not an either/or dilemma however. I can support Alaska's well managed fisheries while also advocating for my local fisheries to be better managed.

You know that cous cous was probably also not made from wheat grown in Massachusetts. I'm sure the wine I had with this dinner was also not local. I'm not trying to be perfect, just to be better.

This halibut was my riff on a recipe in Rick Moonen's Fish without a Doubt. Check the blog post for more information or better, buy Rick's book.

This is THE fish cookery bible. One of the best things about this book is its simpicity for most of us, its free offering of substitutes, and gives you challenging recipes if you want to there.

Albacore is caught with a variety of gear, including troll, pole-and-line and longline. There is little or no bycatch when albacore tuna is caught with troll or pole gear. However, longlines, the most common method, results in large bycatch, including threatened or endangered species such as sea turtles, sharks and seabirds.

This Wild Pacific brand is one you can count on as lower in mercury and safer for the environment.

Cook the bacon until crisp in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat. Add garlic and onions and cook for 1 minute, or until tender. Stir in the flour, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring constantly with wooden spoon.

Add the chicken stock, potatoes, bay leaf, thyme, salt and pepper to taste and bring the soup just to a boil. Immediately reduce the heat and gently simmer for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are thoroughly tender.

Stir in the heavy cream, corn, lima beans, and tuna and cook until heated through. Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with parsley or sprigs of thyme.

Serve hot with crusty bread

Barton Seaver was one of the first chefs I met who had achieved sort of rock star status among conservation minded chefs and cooks. We first met in Greenville, NC at the Southern Exposure festival of food and music.

Seaver has been lauded as a leader in sustainability by Seafood Choices Alliance and was recently named a Fellow with the Blue Ocean Institute, in order to help link the environmental community with real-life, delicious applications of an eco-friendly ethic. He also works with the Ocean Now program at the National Geographic Society, to influence the practices of large corporations and consumers alike toward a more responsible and sustainable sourcing ethic. Locally, Barton is an appointed member of the Mayor's Council on Nutrition in Washington, DC where he is helping to craft a wellness policy for District residents.

Okay that's from his foundation website. What that doesn't tell you is that while all that is going on, and even in the midst of getting married, he's the kind of guy who still returns my calls and says "thanks for what you do, how can I help?" That, to me, is a rock star. Oh yeah, and he does it while devoting so much of his time to the issues of sustainability. Barton was named Chef of the Year by Esquire.

While restaurant business and wedding plans prevented him from getting too involved with my workshops, he was excited to hear about the tools and resources I'm trying to bring to the chef community. As a fellow of Blue Ocean Institute, he's also contributed to the Ocean Friendly Chefs site. See his page here: Barton Seaver - Green Chefs/Blue Ocean for Clams with Chorizo and Pine Nuts.

Ed Sullivan calls himself "a blogger NOT a writer. Check his blog and decide for yourself, DrinkingLatte. What no one would argue with is Ed's excellent presence on Twitter. He is located in Australia, and given the hours that I work, we're often on overlapping, if opposite ends of our days. With thousands of followers (almost three thousand) he still finds a way to remember when you've had a bad day or share a little personal moment that makes you feel very connected.

I'm very excited to bring you his Barramundi with an Asian Twist!

=a delightful dish to share as main for 4 person=

INGREDIENTS:

1 whole cleaned Barramundi (approximately1 kg, the one I used on this recipe)

1. To prepare the dressing, combine all in a bowl, stir well with a whisk.

2. For salad, combine all in a separate bowl.

3. Sprinkle both sides of the fish with salt and pepper.

Heat enough oil to fry in a suitable pan over medium heat.

Fry the fish and turn once until golden brown, and flesh is easily flaked with a fork.

4. Serve on a platter, garnish the salad on top and pour the sauce over salad and fish.

* It’s best to drain the fried fish for excess oil before serving on a platter.

** I used half portion of the fish for photo purposes only. The proper way of serving is the whole fish on a big platter to share.

Ed, this Barramundi looks as delightful as you are, thanks!

Fried Catfish with Spicy Aioli and Andouille Jambalaya

David Dadekian, is a photographer friend I met through Facebook and often "Tweet" with. He's one of those rare folks that is creative in more than one way (he photographs! he cooks! he writes!) and is also a hell of a nice guy. He even shared a roasted suckling pig head with me, shooting him straight to the top of the best friends for life list.

In addition to being able to quote Marvin the Martian, David shares my new respect for recipe development as a skill. Sure you can cook, but actually compose a recipe that will be reliable for the next cook to use? Well, I guess we can add that to his list....

Note: in all honesty, I've been making this for years and don't measure much of it. It's about 1 bell pepper, 1 stalk of celery, 1 onion, some salt & pepper, 1 tomato, and some herbs to taste. I'm estimating the teaspoons of the dried herbs, it's probably more like heaping teaspoons in some cases and scant teaspoons in others. Just make it with love. :)

Garlic Andouile Aioli

1 egg

1/2 Tbs Dijon mustard

4 cloves garlic, crushed

Juice of 1/2 lemon

kosher salt

ground white pepper

reserved andouille "oil"

olive oil

In the bowl of a food processor, fitted with a metal blade, combine the egg, mustard, garlic and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. With the machine running, stream in the andouille "oil" until aioli is pale in color and thickened. You may need to supplement the andouille "oil" with some olive oil if there isn't enough and the aioli is crazy thick. Remove from the processor and refrigerate.

Fried Catfish

4 catfish filets

kosher salt

ground black pepper

Old Bay

2 cups AP flour

2 large whole eggs, beaten with 1 teaspoon water

2 cups panko bread crumbs

Vegetable oil, for frying

Season filets with salt and ground black pepper. In the three small pans place the following: flour seasoned with Old Bay, egg and water mixture, panko bread crumbs also seasoned with Old Bay. Heat about 1/4-inch of vegetable oil in a 12-inch saute pan over medium-high heat. Dip each filet in the flour, then the egg mixture and then in the bread crumbs. Gently place each filet in oil and cook until golden brown, flipping once, approximately 4 minutes on each side. Remove to a cooling rack set in sheet pan and allow to drain for a few minutes before serving.

Serves four

SippitySup is another new surprise for me! Greg writes this blog and is a Foodbuzz publisher who participated in the Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24 Sustainability event. Look over his blog and you'll find several posts about sustainable seafood, good information and great recipes.

If you are interested in foraging, in fishing, in the Pacific Northwest, in good writing, in sustainability issues...or any combination of these...you will love Langdon Cook's blog. Read this post on the Fat of the Land blog: The Herding of the Pinks. Let me also put a plug in for the fantastic book. Fat of the Land is a wonderful example of solid information shared in gently told stories that convey a deep respect for the natural world. Nothing preachy, just the sort of recipes and stories that make you want to dig your hiking boots out of the back of the closet and go outside.

Langdon's photo of his Blackberry Must & Citrus Cured Salmon

Langdon says:

We had an epic run of pink salmon this year in Puget Sound. Something like 5 million fish returned to natal rivers--but not quite all of 'em made it... A group of us fly-fishermen have dialed in this urban fishery right in the heart of Seattle's industrial district. We call it "herding the pinks," rowing our kickboats out into the Duwamish River's estuary to lasso pink salmon as they school past barges, container ships, and the sprawling Boeing complex.

And here's the recipe. I took a simple citrus cure and added the leftover must from blackberry winemaking:

* If you happen to have some blackberry must laying around, by all means use it. If not, the rest of the ingredients make an excellent cure on their own.

Mix all ingredients minus the must in a food processor. Next add the must a little at a time, enough to color the cure but not so much as to make it soggy. Spread a thick layer of cure on bottom of non-reactive dish, up to 1/4 inch. Lay salmon, skin side up, on top of cure, then pack remaining cure on top of the salmon. Cover salmon with plastic wrap and weight down with another dish nested inside the larger dish containing the salmon. Pyrex baking dishes of different sizes work well. Add a few pounds to the nested dish (e.g., cans from the cupboard). Flip salmon in 12 hours. Salmon is finished after 24 hours. Rinse and dry.

The cured salmon will be darker, with an attractive, slightly purple hue from the must, plus there will be a smattering of blackberry seeds that give it extra texture. Slice thinly off the top and eat within a week. I had mine on pumpernickel with a dollop of creme fraiche and chives.

And remember to kiss that first pink salmon of the season. They're the only species of salmon left in the Lower 48 that gives us a hint of what salmon fishing was once like in the not-so-distant past.

My friend Richard Auffrey, The Passionate Foodie, first offered a red wine braised dolphin recipe but I realized he was joking. He's an advocate for sustainable seafood and also one who decries Japan's rape of the oceans. He lent me his copy of End of the Line - check the site and trailer. It's a sobering and worthwhile watching if you can find a copy or a screening.

This is Rich's sauce recipe, and would go well on wild Alaskan Sablefish, wild Alaskan Salmon or even some scallops or vegetables.

A new surprise to me is this blog features videos shot, narrated and edited by Michael Gebert. He was co-nominated for a James Beard Award and loves my two favorite things pigs and fish. The blog is a an annotated index of video podcasts on various topics.

This one features Supreme Lobster's Carl Galvan who was one of our participants at Teach a Chef to Fish in Chicago. There's an interesting array of sustainable fish issues here. See what you can pick out. Which fish are sustainable choices? Which are not? Who's buying and selling what? Why? Discuss...

In this, the first of two podcasts devoted to fish, Sky Full of Bacon looks at the way people look at fish today. We tour Supreme Lobster, one of the nation's largest fish distributors, and listen to sales rep Carl Galvan as he talks passionately about getting high-end chefs interested in more unusual, local and sustainable choices. We hear from chefs Paul Virant and Cary Taylor on how their customers look at fish, talk to the Shedd Aquarium about their Right Bite sustainability program, and meet with Alisha Lumea, "evangelist" for the all-sustainable fish co. Cleanfish, who tells us about some new ways of raising and harvesting fish that hold out hope we'll still have fish in another 40 years.

We often overlook some of the non-oceanic species. This is a reminder of a freshwater fish that's been a staple in Jewish households forever.

Great Lakes whitefish was once THE fish of midwestern dining-- and it's a more sustainable and local choice than the ubiquitous tilapia flown in from Latin America. I talk to chefs Jean Joho and Paul Virant about the challenge of getting modern diners to pick Great Lakes freshwater fish over more exotic choices, visit an old school Jewish fish market and talk to its 93-year-old founder, and finally go out on a Lake Michigan whitefish boat with a family that's been fishing the lake for 130 years.

David Schy is a CIA grad, worked all over and developed recipes for the American Heart Association as a volunteer. Broiled Halibut Veracruz is one of his own recipes he's developed since deciding it was time to lower his weight and cholesterol. (I feel you, David.) Now that I've found your site, I'll have an easier time of it! Thanks for this.

When choosing Halibut, be sure to check the Seafood Watch guide for tips on how to choose sustainable Halibut. Wild Alaksan is a best choice, and California Hook and line caught is a good alternative. Halibut is a bottom-dwelling fish so the old bottom trawlers which wreck the habitat is a chief concern with this fish.

My friend Dale Cruse offers us a technique more than a recipe and does so in his own inimitable style. He publishes the wine blog, Drinks are on Me! Come to think of it, it's about time I take him up on the offer.

Dale Cruse's "Guy Food" Seared Scallops

You’re not a pussy, are you? Tonight we’re making seared scallops and this is no time for the meek, Dexter.

Start with some fresh scallops. As fresh as you can get them. First thing you need to do is pat them dry with a paper towel. Moisture is the enemy of browning.

Crank up the heat under your frying pan as high as possible and wait for it to get hot. Wait. Patience is manly.

Add a thin layer of oil to the pan. This is where I made a mistake the first time I tried this dish. I used too much oil and by the time I added the scallops, the pan was arcing with splattering oil. Not cool. Learn from my mistake. The trick is to use just enough oil – but not too much.

If you’re going to season your scallops, now is the time. I like fresh pepper, but it’s your call.

Put scallops in the pan and leave some space in between. If it’s tempting to squeeze every last piece into your one pan, don’t.

Here comes the important part. Pay attention: Don’t check them every two seconds. In two minutes, you’ll see the scallops starting to brown even on the sides. That’s when you turn them and cook on the other side.

Don’t try to cook them all the way through. They should be rare in the center, so as soon as they are browned on both sides, they’re done.

Remove the scallops to a plate lined with a paper towel to absorb any extra oil.

Serve immediately with an unoaked Chardonnay like the 2005 Monarchia Egri Chardonnay Battonage from Hungary. Accept praise from adoring fans but stop short of accepting offers to father babies. You don’t need that. Enjoy.

Scallops are one example of a farmed product being preferred over a wild caught. While farmed scallops are becoming more available every day, the vast majority of scallops are wild caught with great potential to the ocean habitat caused by dredging. Read more about scallops here.

Add scallops and sear on each side, 1 minute each side. Remove scallops.

Raise heat to high and add balsamic vinegar. Boil and reduce to medium-low heat and cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes, until sauce is syrupy. Add lemon juice, pineapple, cilantro and combine. Add scallops and stir. Season with salt.

Serves 3

Alona Martinez, is a vivacious "Venezuela hybrid" (Venezuela/American/Israeli) who publishes the lovely Culinary Compulsion blog. I first met her at IACP in Denver and liked her instantly. She's published pieces in Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine, The Sun-Sentinel, The Miami Herald, The Dallas Morning News and The Oregonian and was a finalist for the 2009 James Peterson Food Writing Passion Scholarship at The Greenbrier Symposium for Professional Food Writers. In addition to food writing, she develops recipes and photographs food. Her recipes and images have appeared on James Beard Award-winning websites such as Nat Decants and Leite’s Culinaria.

When my son, Andrew, was very young -- the summer before he turned three – he went to a fancy restaurant with his dad and his stepmom for her birthday dinner. She ordered Oysters Rockefeller and gave him one. He liked it so much that she gave him a second and then a third. He finally asked what was in them, so she explained, “Oysters, breadcrumbs and spinach.”

A few weeks later, a friend making conversation with Andrew asked which vegetables he liked. She went through the usual peas, carrots, string beans, etc. When she got to spinach, he replied, “Only in oysters Rockefeller.”

I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled for good oysters Rockefeller recipes ever since. I was recently in New Orleans and picked up the following recipe from Sal Sunseri, who runs the family-owned P&J Oyster Company, which has been processing oysters in the French Quarter since 1875. The recipe is from Galatoire’s, another New Orleans institution, established in 1905. That’s New England-style longevity!

Mince all the greens together as finely as possible. Scrape into a mortar, and work into a smooth paste with the breadcrumbs and butter. Season to taste with salt, pepper and Tabasco, plus, if desired, Pernod (Herbsaint preferred). Preheat broiler. Spread enough salt in a large baking tin to keep the shells from tipping. Dampen salt slightly. Embed shells, open side up, in the salt and put an oyster in each, along with some of its liquor. Spoon an equal amount of the prepared herb butter onto each of the oysters. Put in the middle shelf of the oven and broil the oysters until their edges have curled and the topping is bubbling hot, about 4-5 minutes.?? Serves 4 - 6.

* Galatoire's has two recipes, one with spinach and one without. I think of this as a classic ingredient and discerning diners, like Claire's son would, too. If you have non-spinach lovers, you can make them without it and still know it's an authentic Galatoire's recipe.

Claire reminds me of the Gulf Coast oyster -FDA battle ongoing. (click on link to get to petition) Apparently, fewer people die of vibrio each year in the region than die from lightening strikes, but FDA wants to impose irradiation or other methods to essentially cook oysters sold in many months. Here's a site called Be Oyster Aware. Seems to me it's the same advice for any raw seafood: if you're immune-compromised, probably best to stick to Drago's Grilled or Acme's.

Or you could have barbecued oysters like these at Cafe Desire, and that's a Sazerac, yes.

Crab Imperial

Just the name of this dish makes me smile. It seems to hearken back to a simpler time, when a dish like this made a holiday special. There's something about baked creamy things like mac and cheese, lasagna with bechamel, artichoke and spinach dip...just makes me happy. The casserole craze may be a hip, retro thing for some but "baked and gooey" never left my kitchen long enough to stage a "comeback."

The addition of an expensive, luxury item like crab of course does improve the dish. Hell, it improves a lot of things if you ask me. Stuffed mushrooms, for one.

Crab dishes like these are the opposite of the summertime crab pickin' where you spread out newspaper and pass the beers. Whack and pick, nibble and catch up. Mini crab balls, crab cakes, crab stuffed mushrooms and of course, Crab Imperial are all fancy dishes to add a tough of elegance to the holiday table.

According to the Blue Ocean Institute, "blue crabs mature early and carry their eggs for a short period, making them more resilient to fishing pressure than other crab species.”

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl combine the bread crumbs, butter, cream, egg, seafood seasoning, Worcestershire, and ½ cup of the mayonnaise. Mix well.

Gently fold in the crabmeat and form the mixture into 4 parts. Avoid over-mixing. Lay the crab shells or molds on a sheet pan. Stuff each shell with a mound of crabmeat, being careful not to over pack.

Spread the remaining ½ cup of mayonnaise over the crab mounds until it is completely covered. Sprinkle generously with paprika.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. Serve immediately.

In a pan, add sliced mushrooms to butter (on medium high heat). Cook until brown and add spinach until wilted. Set aside.

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.Husk, clean and cut corn. Add butter to a small pot, when melted, add ginger & garlic. Sauté the garlic for 3 to 4 minutes. Add corn and season with salt. Cook corn for at least 30 minutes or until tender and delicious.

In a hot pan, add canola oil. Season both sides of the fish with spice mix.

Add fish to pan and sear both sides.Transfer fish to sheet tray.Cook in oven until cooked through, about 7 to 9 minutes.

In a plate, mushroom and spinach mixture, then corn, then fish on top. Garnish with chives or cilantro.

None other than Time Magazine honored one of our favorite FoF's (friend of fish): Casson Trenor along with his partners, Chefs Kin Lui and Raymond Ho. These guys are the ones who started the sustainable sushi restaurant trend with Tataki in San Francisco. I'm so proud of these guys I'm busting buttons! I first met them at the FCI for the Blue Ocean Institute, Seafood Watch and EDF joint sushi wallet card launch. Here's the Heroes of the Environment Award article.

Don't forget to check out Casson's site, SustainableSushi.net, which includes posts from his Twitter feed which he's keeping up from Tahiti where he's on a most interesting Greenpeace mission to challenge and document illegal purse seine Skipjack tuna fishing. Read about that, here.

Go Casson! Be safe! Be fearless! Tweet when you can! I think I can say "Gokurosama!"

You can read my interview with Casson who I happened to be IM'g with as he found out the news (about the Time Magazine Award, not the Flying Fish Award.)

Raghavan Iyer to whom I will be forever grateful for showing me a world of curries, shares this recipe on local Minneapolis television. Konkan Wild Salmon Balchao Muchee. This year Raghavan also opened Om Minneapolis, a restaurant getting rave reviews as we would expect.

RESOURCES

A new websiteNourish Network has launched, and I'm a contributing writer. What's great about Nourish Network? We focus on healthy eating, eco-clean choices and mindful meals. It's a social hub which means it's a place to meet others who are interested in approaching food in more mindful ways. Join before December 31 and be entered in a contest for a wine country trip! The recipes, tips and advice focus on nourishing the body and soul. With professionally created content at the core and contributors providing recipes that are healthy and easy, you'll find Nourish Network is a refreshing change of plate.

Afishianado - Seafood Choices Alliance newsletter for regular news about ocean conservation around the world. Click here to get the newsletter and here to go to the Seafood Choices Alliance website. Last year a couple of buddies won Seafood Champion Awards at the Boston Seafood Show. Australis Barramundi, a sponsor of my events this year. I'm happy to spread the word about a good example of aquaculture.

Green Chefs/Blue Ocean - This is one of the most exciting developments of the year. A joint effort of Blue Ocean Institute and the Chefs Collaborative, this online self-study tool is found at Ocean Friendly Chefs, the name of the website. The tutorial is geared toward culinary professionals, with seven modules covering everything from Wild Finfish, Farmed finfish, Shellfish, to fish that is Local, regional, imported; Implementing sustainability in the restaurant, Menu design are also covered in their own full modules. Each begins with a video interview from a chef committed to sustainability, and ends with a quiz. It's offered free of charge in the first year and is an excellent way to train yourself and your staff in a flexible, thorough and engaging way in the topic of sustainable seafood for your restaurant.

Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute has a wealth of good information free of charge on their comprehensive website. Recipes from acclaimed chefs, video from Alton Brown, and award-winning brochures developed in joint efforts with the Culinary Institute of America are just the beginning. Information is available in five languages, too. Look for recipes from chefs like John Besh, Rick Bayless and more. ASMI was a key sponsor of our first annual Teach a Chef to Fish events held in Boston and Chicago, and coming to Toronto in January.

FishChoice.com is another exciting new resource for chefs. I couldn't wait to get this tool in the hands of chefs and culinary professionals this Fall! This tool and the Green Chefs/Blue Ocean tutorial were two key tools highlighted in the chef workshops I coordinated this year. FishChoice.com is the first online solution of its kind for professional buyers seeking sustainable seafood. Chefs can search through a database by various methods and find what sustainable choices are available in their area in one place. FishChoice.com works with the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch Program, Blue Ocean Institute, New England Aquarium, FishWise, The Marine Stewardship Council, Sea Choice and is also affiliated with Shedd Aquarium, and Environmental Defense Fund.

Australis Barramundi has upgraded their site and expanded their operations. Recognized as one of the best examples of Sustainable Aquaculture, it's also getting more acclaim as an eco-friendly and healthy fish. Environmental Nutrition a decades-old respected newsletter rates Barramundi as a top choice due to its low mercury, high Omega 3s and eco-friendly practices. I learned that in its native Australia, it's also known as the "apprentice fish" because it's good fat content makes it hard to overcook! Chef Brandon Bashford served up some delicious Barramundi to me and my guests after our Boston workshop. Chefs in Chicago got treated to a great spiced Barramundi prepared by Radhika Desai of Top Chef Season 5.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch Program is perhaps the most well-known and certainly one of the most comprehensive seafood "watch lists" organizations. Countless (okay 32 million) wallet cards they've distributed have helped concerned consumers make the first steps toward more sustainable choices. Celebrating their 25th Anniversary, the Seafood Watch program released its benchmark report: Turning the Tide. The website continues to be a comprehensive resource giving breadth of information to each of the simple lists with good science and accessible info.

The New England Aquarium - I think having a world class Aquarium in your city sets you apart. Maybe I'm just biased but our Aquarium makes my case. Not only is it a tourist destination and home to many wonderful entertaining exhibits, displays and shows but our NEAq has a very strong conservation arm. I love the new "Live Blue" campaign that let's you adopt a patch of the ocean and the work that's done through their Conservation program is making an impact at commercial and wholesale levels. Engaging suppliers and buyers at the commercial level in making and supporting more sustainable choices has the potential to make great impacts that individuals with wallet cards might take forever to effect. The oceans need all our voices and I for one believe it's a "both/and" approach that will work best. See the New England Aquarium's Conservation and Research program, here.

Shedd Aquarium - Chicago's Aquarium is terrific. Their Right Bite program helps educate the public, and culinary schools and others about the state of various fisheries. By-Catch; Overfishing; Habitat Destruction; Aquaculture; Illegal, Unreported, Unregulated. A couple of their "Mermaids" came to our Chicago workshop. Kassia Perpich is my new favorite mermaid. If you want to hear her articulate the key issues we discuss, check this clip on Chicago Public Radio. You'll also hear from Dirk Fucik who helped coordinate the whole workshop. It's a good, brief clip.

The Chefs Collaborative issued the Seafood Solutions report and it does a terrific job of giving a solid amount of information without being overwhelming. You don't have to be a chef to get it, or to find it useful.

Find books mentioned here on my Powell's Bookshelf! A Good Catch: a great collection of Canadian Chefs' Sustainable Seafood; Rick Moonen's Fish Without a Doubt, Fat of the Land and many more.